FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT GAME TIMES - PAGE 3

If FAU fans want to sit down on the couch and watch the Owls' Sept. 6 matchup with Alabama on the big screen, they might have to switch cable TV providers. The SEC Network announced its early season lineup Thursday. It featured FAU's trip to Alabama, which will kick off a noon (11 a.m. in Tuscaloosa). Currently, only AT&T and Dish Network subscribers will receive the SEC Network when it goes live in August. Comcast and DirecTv have not come to agreements with ESPN, who is charging $1.30 per subscriber for the network. Most sports business experts expect both Comcast and DirecTV to strike a deal with ESPN before the SEC Network goes on the air. Here are the other SEC Network games: Thu, Aug. 28 6 p.m. Texas A&M at South Carolina 9:15 p.m. Temple at Vanderbilt Sat, Aug. 30 Noon Tennessee-Martin at Kentucky 4 p.m. Arkansas at Auburn 7:30 p.m. Southern Mississippi at Mississippi State Sun, Aug. 31 7 p.m. Utah State at Tennessee Sat, Sept.

Nets forward Kenyon Martin wouldn't make excuses Friday night after a dreary four-point performance against the Spurs, and didn't need to offer any Saturday. With the Nets taking Saturday off to fly to San Antonio for Game 6 of the NBA Finals against the Spurs, the next significant check of Martin's temperature and temperament will come at tonight's tip-off at the SBC Center. Martin has been limited by flu symptoms since Wednesday. He overcame them to score 20 points in Game 4 of the NBA Finals that night, but was a shell of himself in Friday's Game 5 as the Nets fell to a 3-2 deficit in the best-of-7 series.

Fall practice was officially put in the rear-view mirror Sunday as the University of Miami began preparations for Saturday's game at UCLA. UM started the weekly routine with an hourlong walkthrough and team meetings, although coaches did have to make some adjustments to the usual schedule. "We wanted to get them into the way an actual game routine would be," coach Butch Davis said. "We had our regular 2 o'clock special teams meetings, and normally we would have gone over yesterday's game, but today all we did was review UCLA's special teams films with the whole team in there."

Four words in the American culture have the ability to enlist cheers, tears and groans: Let the games begin. See, either you pumped your fist in the air, pulled a proud hand to your heart or rolled your eyes and thought, "Oh, no. Is it already time for that again?" Yep. Coverage of the Summer Games of the XXVII Olympiad begins on NBC at 7:30 p.m. Friday, with a live ... uh, taped broadcast of the lively Opening Ceremony from Australia. As with all 19 days of the Sydney Summer Games, set to air on the network and its cable affiliates, MSNBC and CNBC, the ceremony will actually occur 15 hours before it hits local television screens.

It's been 20 years since he played, but Tim Shields still gets chills when he talks about the rivalry. Mike Roland can still remember feeling the sting of defeat in his senior year in 1958, when his Stranahan team lost to Fort Lauderdale 14-13 in the series' inaugural game. When Fort Lauderdale and Stranahan take the field at Lockhart Stadium on Friday night, it will be the 52nd time the two have squared off in Broward County 's oldest rivalry. This year's teams get the chance to write the next chapter.

The Florida-Vanderbilt game on Nov. 6 will kick off at 12:21 p.m. and be televised by the SEC Network on SFL-Channel 39 (Comcast 11 in South Florida), the Southeastern Conference announced Monday. Miami and Florida State will have to wait until Sunday to find out the kickoff times for their games on Nov. 6. The Atlantic Coast Conference announced a six-day window for its television partners to make their selections. Miami hosts Maryland at either noon or 3:30 p.m. The game will be televised by either ABC, Raycom (the ACC Network)

Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade did not practice Tuesday and will be a game-time decision Wednesday against the Milwaukee Bucks. Wade has been bothered with a right lateral thigh contusion he sustained against the New Jersey Nets Sunday. "I don't want to say yes or no," Wade said. "I'm just going to say it's going to be day-to-day. I'm going to come in and do the treatment and therapy . . . and I'll make the decision (Wednesday.)" Wade said Monday he rated the thigh pain 'at a 9.7' out of 10. Teammate LeBron James said there should be no rush for Wade to return.

Although rainy and gloomy today, Sunday's Super Bowl should see almost perfect weather when the Indianapolis Colts and the New Orleans Saints collide at Sun Life Stadium, according to the latest forecast. The National Weather Service in Miami calls for a super game day, with mostly sunny skies, afternoon highs in the low 70s and evening lows in the mid to upper 50s. The game time temperature likely will be in the 60s. That doesn't mean Mother Nature won't spring a surprise.

Are you ready for some football? It's a game within a game on the information highway when it comes to professional football. If the best offense truly is a good defense, then be defensively selective when it comes to perusing some of the following web sites. ESPNET SportsZone's NFL web site has been given the Most Valuable Player Award by many web surfers because of its daily pro football magazine. Web surfers have access to about half of the features for free; a $39.95 annual fee gets you full access and it seems to be worth it. Let's face it, it's cheaper than a Sunday afternoon at Pro Player Stadium.

Former Panthers' coach/GM Jacques Martin is back in town for tonight's game between the Panthers and Canadiens, who lead them by two points in the Eastern Conference standings and have played one more game. More exposure for Jacques in Montreal? Sure. A step up to a better team? Nope. [Speaking of guys leaving for supposedly greener pastures, Jay Bouwmeester would again be out of the playoffs if they started today. The Calgary Flames are sitting in ninth, tied with the Red Wings in points with 58, a whopping five more than the Panthers through as many games.